Shattered Fire
Chapter One: Fire “The kits are here!” Five kits had just been born, to two rogues Feather (silver she-cat) and Eagle (black-and-ginger tom). Their names are: Silver-striped she-cat: Rain Fluffy gray tom with black flecks: Bristle Black she-cat with a few silver spots: Night Brown tabby she-cat: Sparrow Fiery red tom: Fire After several moons, Fire started to show some odd behaviors. He kept mentioning a “BreezeClan” whenever he woke up, and no one knew anything about it. 1.2: At the BreezeClan camp: “Robinstar! A prophecy has been sent from StarClan!” Hawktail, the medicine cat, burst into camp. “Fire will burn through us all, but not destroy a single soul.” Robinstar looked surprised. “It can’t mean a cat from our Clan,” she said at last. “But it could be one of those rogues who live near us. I’ll go check it out.” Chapter Two: Tensions Building (two moons later) “ATTACK!” Feather sprinted forward, pinning the tortoiseshell down. The latter struggled free, growling. “Do you know a cat named Fire?” Feather looked rather taken aback. “He is my son. What do you want with him? And who are you? A BreezeClan cat? Fire talks a lot about you, even though we’ve never met.” The tortoiseshell had obviously been startled by this last part. “I am Robinstar, and yes, I am a BreezeClan cat. My medicine cat has had an omen. About a cat named Fire. And your son is pretty likely that cat, don’t you agree?” I gave away too much! This fox-heart wants to take my kit away! “Get away from me! And if you touch a single hair on Fire’s pelt I’ll kill you!” Robinstar said nothing, just turned and swiftly walked away. But Feather had a feeling that Fire was indeed the prophesied cat.... ”Cats of BreezeClan! Gather beneath the High Branch for a clan meeting!” Robinstar leapt onto the fallen branch. “It appears that the prophecy has been fulfilled,” she called. “But the supposed cat is not willing to join us.” A large black tom spoke up. “Should we fight for them?” he called. Robinstar seemed quite uncertain about what to do. “Darkfoot, you have reason. But we must not fight unless necessary. There are seven total rogues.” “And many more of us,” Darkfoot growled. Robinstar’s deputy was loyal and brave, but he could be very battle-oriented. This was a situation to take seriously. Finally Robinstar decided. “I will go back, and see if I have any more luck.” “Intruder!” Eagle’s call made Feather and the kits jump. Feather glanced at the tortoiseshell-splashed coat. It was the same cat that had came the day before. Robinstar. Eagle recognized her too, by the way his pelt was bristling. He charged forward. “What do you want? To take Fire hostage and kill him?” Robinstar looked offended. “No. We believe that he is destined for power.” Now it was Feather’s turn to be offended. “I told you that I would kill you if you returned. I stand by what I say.“ She swiftly ran her claws along Robinstar’s flank, causing blood to pour from it. Feather stood back as her victim slowly fell still. But then Robinstar sprang up, spitting. She truly would return— and Feather would kill her as many times as it would take. Chapter Three: An Unlikely Death “ATTACK!” Robinstar’s call made the Clan jump. Six rogues stood at the camp entrance, pelts bristling. Without warning, they charged into battle. Feather headed for Robinstar straight away. Eagle started on Darkfoot, and Rain went for Hawktail. The other three just went for whoever was closest. Within moments, Hawktail was dead, and Darkfoot had collapsed. Robinstar had lost another life, her fourth. Feather leapt onto her, sending her onto the rocks. Robinstar tumbled down the stone hill, and into a pond. Darkfoot leapt in after her, but did not re-emerge. Robinstar did, after a long struggle. Darkfoot had evidently drowned. Feather pinned her down, claws fully extended. “Surrender,” she hissed. “Or you get the same as him.” Robinstar immediately let out the call of defeat. The six rogues ran, neck fur bristling. But they would surely come back. “It is with great sadness that we announce the deaths of Darkfoot, Hawktail, and Flamepelt. But there is an important task to be done. I say these words before StarClan, so that they will approve my choice. Streampelt will be the new deputy of BreezeClan.” The blue-gray tabby dipped her head, and her former apprentice, Birdwing, pricked her ears. She had only been made warrior two moons ago. Robinstar continued. “I have lost three lives in the last two days. My third on my second visit to the rogues, my fourth in the battle, and my fifth from drowning. I am only telling you this so that my death is not a surprise. Not to worry— I’ll make sure that the Clan is safe.” Everyone was stunned. Leaders never talked about how many lives they had left! Little did they know, but a silver-striped cat was watching, taking everything in. “Robinstar can lose four more lives, and then she’ll be dead.” Rain had just brought back the news she had overheard. “Streampelt is the new deputy. That blue tabby that Bristle was fighting in the battle. But not to worry, she doesn’t seem to be a fan of Robinstar’s plan.” Night was listening intently. Bristle was simply hissing, as he was the most short-tempered out of all of them. Feather and Eagle looked on. “New cat,” Sparrow suddenly hissed. “Different scent! I think it’s Streampelt!” Sure enough, the blue-gray cat was running forward. She widened her gaze as soon as she saw the rogues. “It’s you! I’ve been meaning to sneak away like this and join you, but... I’ve brought others. They also want to join. This is Snowcloud—” She indicated a white she-cat, “and Blazingfire.” A dark red tom stepped forward. “Snowcloud was the medicine cat, but she joined me. Now the Clan has no healing, and Blazingfire was our strongest warrior. He would probably have been the next deputy, if he hadn’t joined me.” Feather looked intently at each cat, before deciding what to do. “You need new names, so that your Clan doesn’t get suspicious. Streampelt can be Creek, Snowcloud can be Ice, and Blazingfire will be Flames.” The newly named rogues dipped their heads. They were part of the growing army. Chapter Four: Mysteries Unsolved Robinstar leapt onto the High Branch. “Three of our Clan mates have disappeared! We must check out the rogue camp! All of you except the queens, kits, elders, and apprentices, come with me.” She led her warriors down the hill, and across the moor to the old rabbit warrens. They were small, but had enough protection for a suitable camp. The tortoiseshell leader called out, “Feather!” A small silver tabby ran out of one of the warrens. “What do you want? I’ve told you, you can’t have Fire.” Before anyone could speak, three rogues ran out. “You—” Robinstar began, but was quickly cut off as Creek, Ice, and Flames attacked her. Suddenly a gray tabby tom and a light brown she-cat leapt in as well. “Rainfeather, Finchwing!” You are staying with Breeze—” Robinstar growled, but was pushed down by Sparrow. “They aren’t part of your Clan anymore,” she hissed. “Just exile everyone who chooses to leave. That’ll make for a bunch of loyal cats.” Robinstar realized that there was no point in losing more warriors. The few remaining cats quickly ran off back to camp. The newly named Wind (Rainfeather) and Thrush (Finchwing) had accepted their new Clan mates with ease. Apparently they were wondering about their disappearance, and wanted to join the rogues. The group was growing fast, and not just from Clan cats. Rain had just found out that she was pregnant with Flames’s kits. The Clan cats showed no interest of leaving, and the group was looking strong. BreezeClan, on the contrary, was growing weaker every day. “We must fight the rogues if we want to stay strong.” Robinstar was weaker than most of her Clan mates, but she still kept fighting. If she stopped, then fate would take all of them very soon. So the battle had to rage on, and Robinstar knew it. She and all her warriors headed for the rogue camp, knowing that they might not return. Feather instantly went for Robinstar, barreling her into a tree. Bristle was attacking three warriors at once, and Sparrow had beaten two. Suddenly a huge tabby tom ran forward. Night was fighting him, but she was close to giving in. Ice leapt onto the warrior’s back, but was pulled forward by his weight. He was taken down, and swiftly killed by Eagle. Robinstar, after seeing the body, ran forward. “Bramblefeather! No!” Feather swiftly ran up and attacked, slashing through the leader’s pelt. Robinstar collapsed and slowly fell still, then eventually woke up again. She did this three times, and the fourth, she stayed awake. “Because of you,” she rasped, “the prophecy will never be fulfilled. Because of you, the Clan will die.” Upon seeing their leader’s body, the Clan cats fled. Without a leader or a deputy, the Clan was a disaster. Chapter Five: The Forgotten Clan Rain’s two kits had just been named. The dark gray she-cat was Ripple, and the gray-and-ginger one was Leaf. Both of them were very strong, and would become feared warriors. Leaf had almost been named Robin, but Rain didn’t want her named after an enemy. BreezeClan hadn’t been seen since the last battle, and was hopefully declining. Although they might have just been trying to fool the rogue group, they were still growing rapidly smaller. Only eight warriors remained of BreezeClan— only enough for two patrols and two guards. There wasn’t anyone taking charge, so everyone just went on the patrols that they wanted to go on. Wingfeather, the only queen, had just had a single kit, Stormkit. And Wingfeather’s mate, Rockfall, couldn’t catch enough food to feed them. The whole Clan was fighting, but not for much longer. In a shocking turn of events, Frostbird died of an infected thorn scratch. The fact remained that there was no medicine cat to cure him. Fortunately, Wingfeather was able to keep her son safe. When Stormkit was six moons old, his mentor became Raincloud, one of the last warriors in the Clan. He was able to learn quickly, and had kept himself alive. Unfortunately, not the same could be said for the rest of the Clan. All of them were weak and half-starved, and the worst was still to come.